Component mounting machine

ABSTRACT

The component mounting apparatus includes a component delivery unit, a chuck ( 13 ) provided on the component delivery unit, a component transfer unit ( 19 ) for receiving a component held by the chuck ( 13 ), and a head ( 20 ) for receiving the component held by the component transfer unit ( 19 ). The head ( 20 ) includes a main head body ( 80 ), a vertically moving mechanism ( 81 ) for the main head body ( 80 ), insertion nails ( 68 ) provided at a bottom portion of the main head body ( 80 ), an opening/closing mechanism ( 82 ) for the insertion nails ( 68 ), and a turning mechanism ( 83 ) for moving the insertion nails ( 68 ) in forward and backward directions. A cam plate ( 84 ) constituting the turning mechanism ( 83 ) is mounted detachably on the main head body ( 80 ).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a component mounting apparatus formounting components on a substrate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A component mounting apparatus of the prior art is constructed asdescribed hereinafter. That is, the structure comprises a componentcarrying unit, a chuck provided on the component carrying unit, acomponent transfer unit for receiving a component held by the chuck, anda head for receiving the component held by the component transfer unit.The head comprises a main head body, a vertically-moving means for themain head body, an insertion nail provided at a lower portion of themain head body, an opening/closing means for the insertion nail, and aturning means for moving the insertion nail in forward and backwarddirections.

In the afore-said apparatus of the prior art, the turning means forforward and backward movement of the insertion nail is necessary inorder to retract the insertion nail after it mounts a component on asubstrate. Normally, the turning means retracts the insertion nail by alarge margin so that the insertion nail does not hit upon the componentwhen it moves upward after making a retractive movement to the back,even if the component being mounted is considerably large. However, inthe case of an apparatus having a structure in which the insertion nailretracts backward by a large margin, the insertion nail collides withother components during a retractive movement of the insertion nail, ifthe other components have been mounted already on the substrate, and ifthere are only limited spaces among them.

The foregoing instance is dealt with by replacing the head with one thatmakes only a small retractive movement. However, this again requires apositioning alignment of the insertion nail especially with respect tothe substrate after replacement of the head, thereby impairingworkability. Therefore, the present invention aims at improving theworkability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

in order to achieve the foregoing object, an apparatus of the presentinvention has a cam plate, which comprises the afore-said turning means,mounted detachably on the main head body. In other words, a turninglocus of an insertion nail toward the back, or a retracting path of theinsertion nail after mounting a component, can be altered easily bymounting another cam plate of a different shape, and thereby a densityof components mounted on a substrate can be increased. In addition, theinvention improves workability, since it requires only a replacement ofthe cam plate, but no positioning alignment, etc. of the insertion nailwith respect to the substrate after the replacement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view depicting a component mounting apparatus ofan exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view depicting a component supply unit portionof the same component mounting apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view depicting a belt portion of the samecomponent mounting apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the same component supply unit portion;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the same component supply unit portion;

FIG. 6 is a front view of an essential portion of the same componentsupply unit;

FIG. 7 is another front view of the same portion of the component supplyunit;

FIG. 8 is another front view of the same portion of the component supplyunit;

FIG. 9 is still another front view of the same portion of the componentsupply unit;

FIG. 10 is still another front view of the same portion of the componentsupply unit;

FIG. 11 is yet another front view of the same portion of the componentsupply unit;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view depicting a portion around a secondcutting blade of the same component mounting apparatus;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view depicting a polarity flipper unit portionof the same component mounting apparatus;

FIG. 14 is a plan view depicting a second chuck release portion of thesame component mounting apparatus;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view depicting a hold-position correction unitportion of the same component mounting apparatus;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view depicting a portion around a third cuttingblade portion of the same component mounting apparatus;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view depicting a component transfer unitportion of the same component mounting apparatus;

FIG. 18 is a side view depicting an essential portion of the samecomponent transfer unit;

FIG. 19 is another side view of the same essential portion of thecomponent transfer unit;

FIG. 20 is a front view depicting an essential portion around thecomponent transfer unit and a head portion of the same componentmounting apparatus;

FIG. 21 is another front view depicting the same portion around thecomponent transfer unit and the head portion;

FIG. 22 is a plan view depicting an essential portion around thecomponent transfer unit and the head portion;

FIG. 23 is another plan view depicting the same essential portion aroundthe component transfer unit and the head portion;

FIG. 24 is still another plan view depicting the same essential portionaround the component transfer unit and the head portion;

FIG. 25 is a perspective view depicting the same component transferunit;

FIG. 26 is a perspective view depicting an essential portion of the samecomponent transfer unit;

FIG. 27 is another perspective view of the same essential portion of thecomponent transfer unit;

FIG. 28 is a perspective view depicting the same component transfer unitand the head portion;

FIG. 29 is a front view depicting the same component transfer unit;

FIG. 30 is a side view depicting a transfer chuck of the same componenttransfer unit;

FIG. 31 is another front view of the same component transfer unit;

FIG. 32 is another side view of the same transfer chuck of the componenttransfer unit;

FIG. 33 is still another front view of the same component transfer unit;

FIG. 34 is still another side view of the same transfer chuck of thecomponent transfer unit;

FIG. 35 is a perspective view depicting a head;

FIG. 36 is a perspective view depicting a main head body of the samehead;

FIG. 37 is a perspective view depicting a rotary body of the same head;

FIG. 38 is a perspective view depicting an insertion nail of the samehead;

FIG. 39 is an exploded perspective view of the same insertion nail;

FIG. 40 is a plan view depicting the same insertion nail;

FIG. 41 is another plan view depicting the same insertion nail;

FIG. 42 is a front view depicting an operation of the same head;

FIG. 43 is another front view depicting an operation of the same head;

FIG. 44 is another front view depicting an operation of the same head;

FIG. 45 is another front view depicting an operation of the same head;

FIG. 46 is another front view depicting an operation of the same head;

FIG. 47 is still another front view depicting an operation of the samehead;

FIG. 48 is yet another front view depicting an operation of the samehead;

FIG. 49 is a sectional view depicting a state of insertion by the head;

FIG. 50 is a sectional view depicting another state of insertion by thesame head;

FIG. 51 is a sectional view depicting another state of insertion by thesame head;

FIG. 52 is a front view depicting a state of insertion by the same head;

FIG. 53 is a front view depicting another state of insertion by the samehead;

FIG. 54 is a front view depicting another state of insertion by the samehead;

FIG. 55 is a front view depicting another state of insertion by the samehead;

FIG. 56 is a front view depicting still another state of insertion bythe same head;

FIG. 57 is a front view depicting yet another state of insertion by thesame head;

FIG. 58 is a front view depicting the same operation;

FIG. 59 is a plan view depicting an example of comparing insertionnails;

FIG. 60 is a plan view depicting another example of comparing insertionnails;

FIG. 61 is a sectional view depicting one example of a catch pin;

FIG. 62 is a sectional view depicting another example of a catch pin;

FIG. 63 is a sectional view depicting still another example of a catchpin;

FIG. 64 is a sectional view depicting yet another example of a catchpin;

FIG. 65 is a longitudinal sectional view depicting an anvil mechanism ofthe same component mounting apparatus;

FIG. 66 is a perspective view depicting a mounting base of the anvilmechanism;

FIG. 67 is a sectional view depicting the mounting base;

FIG. 68 is a sectional view of the anvil mechanism showing an operationthereof;

FIG. 69 is another sectional view of the same anvil mechanism showing anoperation thereof;

FIG. 70 is another sectional view of the same anvil mechanism showing anthereof;

FIG. 71 is another sectional view of the same anvil mechanism showing anoperation thereof;

FIG. 72 is another sectional view of the same anvil mechanism showing anoperation thereof;

FIG. 73 is still another sectional view of the same anvil mechanismshowing an operation thereof;

FIG. 74 is yet another sectional view of the same anvil mechanismshowing an operation thereof;

FIG. 75 is an oblique expanded perspective view depicting an essentialupper portion of the same anvil mechanism in the state shown in FIG. 70;

FIG. 76 is a plan view depicting the essential portion of the same anvilmechanism;

FIG. 77 is a front view depicting the essential portion of the sameanvil mechanism;

FIG. 78 is another front view of the essential portion of the same anvilmechanism;

FIG. 79 is still another front view of the essential portion of the sameanvil mechanism;

FIG. 80 is a front view depicting a movable blade of another exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 81 is a cross sectional view depicting the same movable blade;

FIG. 82 is a perspective view depicting a catch pin portion of the sameanvil mechanism;

FIG. 83 is an exploded perspective view depicting the same catch pinportion;

FIG. 84 is a sectional view depicting the same catch pin portion;

FIG. 85 is a perspective view depicting an operating rod of the samecatch pin portion;

FIG. 86 is a plan view of the same operating rod;

FIG. 87 is another plan view of the same operating rod;

FIG. 88 is a side view depicting a mechanism for determining a standbyposition of a pusher in another exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 89 is another side view of the same mechanism;

FIG. 90 is still another side view of the same mechanism;

FIG. 91 is yet another side view of the same mechanism;

FIG. 92 is a perspective view depicting a first lever of the samemechanism;

FIG. 93 is an oblique expanded perspective view of second lever 115Kshown in FIG. 88;

FIG. 94 is a block diagram of a controller of the same mechanism;

FIG. 95 is a perspective view depicting a transfer mechanism portion fora substrate in the same component mounting apparatus;

FIG. 96 is a perspective view depicting an end portion of a transfershaft of the same transfer mechanism;

FIG. 97 is a front view depicting a portion of the same transfermechanism for the substrate;

FIG. 98 is another front view of the same portion of the transfermechanism for the substrate;

FIG. 99 is still another front view of the same portion of the transfermechanism for the substrate;

FIG. 100 is a front view depicting a transferring portion of the sametransfer mechanism for the substrate;

FIG. 101 is another front view depicting the transferring portion of thesame transfer mechanism for the substrate;

FIG. 102 is another front view depicting the transferring portion of thesame transfer mechanism for the substrate;

FIG. 103 is another front view depicting the transferring portion of thesame transfer mechanism for the substrate,

FIG. 104 is still another front view depicting the transferring portionof the same transfer mechanism for the substrate; and

FIG. 105 is yet another front view depicting the transferring portion ofthe same transfer mechanism for the substrate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be describedhereinafter by referring to the accompanying figures.

In FIG. 1, a reference numeral 1 represents a main body, and a backsideof which has a plurality of component delivery guides 2. Each of thecomponent delivery guides 2 is supplied with a chain of taped components4, shown in FIG. 2, from a storage unit 3 located under the componentdelivery guides 2. Each of the distal ends of the component deliveryguides 2 is linked with a component supply unit 5.

As an exemplified structure of a component delivery unit, an annularbelt 6 made of rubber or synthetic resin is run through three pulleys 7,8 and 9 in a triangular shape in the main body 1. The belt 6 is embeddedinternally with dozens of annular metal wires, so as to prevent it fromstretching to the utmost. Also, the belt 6 is provided with ditches andridges on both the front and back surfaces, so that the ditches andridges on the back surface engage with ditches and ridges on aperipheral surface of the pulleys 7 through 9.

A motor 10, which normally runs intermittently, drives the pulley 7 sothat the belt 6 also moves intermittently.

A plurality of chuck retainers 11 are attached to the belt 6 at regularintervals, as shown in FIG. 3. In this instance, the chuck retainers 11are attached securely in their respective positions on the belt 6because the ditches and ridges on the surface of the chuck retainers 11engage the ditches and ridges on the front surface of the belt 6. Inaddition, an upper end and a lower end of each of the chuck retainers 11extends toward the backside surface of the belt 6, so that portions ofthese extended ends also engage with an upper part and a lower part ofthe ditches and ridges on the backside surface of the belt 6.

Further, guide portions 11 a and 11 b are integrally formed with theupper and the lower extended ends of the chuck retainers 11. An upperend and a lower end of a board-shaped guide rail 12, which is positionedat the backside surface of the belt 6 between the pulleys 7 and 8,between the pulleys 8 and 9, and between the pulleys 9 and 7, engage theguide portions 11 a and 11 b. This structure allows the belt 6 to movealong without trembling.

A lower end of the individual chuck retainer 11 has three sets of chucks13, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. These chucks 13 catch individualcomponent pieces cut off by a first cutting blade 14 from the chain oftaped components 4, and transfer the components 4 sequentially toward asecond cutting blade 15, a polarity flipper unit 16 for the components,a hold-position correction unit 17 for lead terminals, a third cuttingblade 18 for cutting the lead terminals, and a component transfer unit19, as the belt 6 moves.

Each individual component piece held by the component transfer unit 19is handed over to a head 20. The head 20 transfers the component piecealong a rail 21, and mounts it on a substrate, which is aligned inposition on an X-Y table 22. The substrate will be described later. Ananvil mechanism 23 then cuts off extra lengths of the lead terminals,and bends the lead terminals inwards.

The chain of taped components 4 consists of components, each of whichcomprises an element 24 and at least two lead terminals 25 connected tothe element 24, and a taping member 26 on which the components are tapedat regular intervals as shown in FIG. 2. The component supply unit 5supplies the chain of taped components 4 to the chucks 13 in such amanner that the components are positioned with the element 24 extendingupwards and the lead terminals 25 extending downwards, and they are alsoaligned so that a phantom line extended through two lead terminals 25 ofa component held by one of the chucks 13 is approximately in line withanother phantom line extended through two lead terminals 25 of anothercomponent to be held subsequently by another chuck, as shown in FIG. 2.In other words, the exemplary embodiment of the present inventionreduces a space occupied by the component supply unit 5, as shown inFIG. 1, since the component supply unit 5 supplies the chain of tapedcomponents 4 linearly toward the chucks 13 on the belt 6 used as thecomponent delivery unit.

Although an apparatus of the present exemplary embodiment is providedwith a plurality of component supply units 5 of this kind side by side,as shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus can be overall small in size, when theplurality of component supply units 5 are disposed side by side, sinceeach of the component supply units 5 has a slim shape because the chainof taped components 4 are supplied linearly to the chucks 13. In otherwords, the apparatus can improve an efficiency of supplying componentsby arranging a larger number of the component supply units 5 in alimited space, as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, respectively, depict portions of the component supplyunit 5. The component supply unit 5 comprises: a guide channel 27 forguiding the chain of taped components 4; a feeder 29 linked toperforations 28 in the taping member 26 located in the guide channel 27for moving the taping member 26 intermittently in a ratchet motion; afirst chuck release 30 interlocked with the feeder 29 for freeing thechuck 13, a first cutting blade (i.e., taping member cutting blade) 14for cutting the taping member 26 while holding the lead terminals 25 ofthe chain of taped components 4 with the chuck 13; a cam 31 for drivingthe feeder 29, the first chuck release 30, and the first cutting blade14; and a cylinder 32 used as a driving unit for driving the cam 31, andso on.

An element detector 33 fronts the guide channel 27, as shown in FIG. 5,and it detects whether or not an element 24 is present at apredetermined position on the chain of taped components 4. An output ofthe element detector 33 controls a magnitude of movement of the cam 31by the cylinder 32, as will be described later. The cam 31 has two slideopenings (slots) 34, which connect to their respective pins 35, and itis moved reciprocally by the cylinder 32.

The first chuck release 30 is connected to a chuck opening cam surface36 of the cam 31 via a transmission mechanism 37. The transmissionmechanism 37 comprises: a first lever 39 having a pin 38 in contact withthe chuck opening cam surface 36; a lever 41 supporting the lever 39with an axle 40; an axle 42 supporting axially the lever 41, and so on.

Referring back to the cam 31 for more details, it is provided with acutting blade open/close cam surface 43 and a cutting blade shift camsurface 44. The cutting blade open/close cam surface 43 is linked with apin 47 on a second lever 46, which is supported axially by an axle 45,thereby enabling the cam 31 to open and close the first cutting blade 14via the second lever 46.

Also, the cutting blade shift cam surface 44 is linked with a pin 50 ona third lever 49, which is supported axially by an axle 48, and a freeend of the third lever 49 is connected to the afore-cited feeder 29.Further, the free end is also connected to the first cutting blade 14via a fourth lever 51.

Referring now to FIG. 6 through FIG. 11, described hereinafter is aseries of operations relating to transfer of the chain of tapedcomponents 4, cutting it into individual component pieces, and feedingthe components 4 to the chuck 13.

FIG. 6 shows the cam 31 in its initial position, where it is shifted toa leftmost position by the cylinder 32. The distinctiveness of thisposition is that the first cutting blade 14 is set at a side of thecomponent supply unit 5, as shown in FIG. 6. That is, the chuck 13 andthe first cutting blade 14 are close to each other, yet the firstcutting blade 14 is shifted toward the component supply unit 5.Therefore, the transfer of a component to a second cutting blade 15 bythe chuck 13 will not be hindered as the transfer takes place, as shownby FIG. 6.

In the state shown by FIG. 6, the first cutting blade 14 is in its openposition, and the chain of taped components 4 advances to the openedfirst cutting blade 14 in the next step of FIG. 7. When the cam 31shifts toward the right, as shown in FIG. 7, the fifth lever 41 turnscounterclockwise around the axle 42 as an axis, because the pin 38slides up on the chuck opening cam surface 36 of the cam 31 at thebeginning of the rightward movement of the cam 31. This causes the firstchuck release 30 to shift toward the chuck 13, as shown in FIG. 5.

The chuck 13 comprises a fixed nail 52, a movable nail 53 which opensand closes with respect to the fixed nail 52, and an elastic body 54attached to an inside face of the movable nail 53. The movable nail 53is provided with a hook 55 at a side closest to the component supplyunit 5 for making a linkage to the first chuck release 30.

Therefore, when the first chuck release 30 makes a small stroke ofmovement, it can open the chuck 13 first, as shown in FIG. 5, becausethe first chuck release 30 contacts the hook 55 provided on the movablenail 53 of the chuck 13 at a side closest to the component supply unit 5so as to link the first chuck release 30 and the chuck 13.

The elastic body 54 is attached to the movable nail 53 with a pinpenetrating through the elastic body 54. Use of the pin for attachingthe elastic body 54 to the movable nail 53 by penetrating therethroughcan prevent the elastic body 54 from coming off of the movable nail 53,even if a stress of deformation is applied repeatedly to the elasticbody 54 due to opening and closing of the chuck 13.

The chuck 13 fixes a position of an individual component piece separatedfrom the chain of taped components 4 with the fixed nail 52, and holdsthe component piece securely with a moderate elasticity of the elasticbody 54 on the inside face of the movable nail 53.

When the chuck 13 is in its open position, the pin 50 slides up on thecutting blade shift cam surface 44 to drive the feeder 29 via the thirdlever 49, and thereby feed the chain of taped components 4 into the openchuck 13, as shown in FIG. 7.

The chuck 13 is in a standby state for receiving the chain of tapedcomponents 4 at this moment, so as not to interfere with the feeding,even if the first cutting blade 14 is shifted toward the chuck 13 viathe fourth lever 51 and a holder 56 of the first cutting blade 14. Theholder 56 is axially supported by an axle 57, and it shifts the firstcutting blade 14 toward the chuck 13, when a free end of it is movedleft by the lever 51.

FIG. 8 shows a state wherein the cam 31 has been shifted further to theright side by the cylinder 32, and the third lever 49 has made thefeeder 29 complete the feeding movement at this moment. The pin 38 hasnearly slid down on the chuck opening cam surface 36 at this moment. Asthe fifth lever 41 turns clockwise in this state, the first chuckrelease 30 shifts toward the right side, and the chuck 13 moves near toits closed position. This means that the lead terminals 25 of theelement 24 are being held by the chuck 13 at a leading end of the chainof taped components 4, as shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 9 shows a state wherein the cam 31 has been shifted even furthertoward the right side by the cylinder 32, and the lead terminals 25 arecompletely held by the chuck 13.

FIG. 10 shows a state wherein the cam 31 has been shifted to therightmost end by the cylinder 32. In this state, a left end of thesecond lever 46 supported axially by the axle 45 is moved downward,because the pin 47 is in a position so as to completely slide up on thecutting blade open/close cam surface 43. Thus, the taping member 26 iscut off to separate a component piece, which is then held by the chuck13.

Finally, the cylinder 32 causes the cam 31 to return to its originalposition of FIG. 4 by passing through a position shown in FIG. 11.

When the cam 31 returns toward the left side in the position shown inFIG. 11, the pin 38 slides up on the chuck opening cam surface 36.However, if the chuck 13 is opened during this return movement, thecomponent piece held by the chuck 13 slips off. It is thereforeimportant to provide a countermeasure against it.

In this exemplary embodiment, the transmission mechanism 37 isconstituted so that the first lever 39 turns only clockwise withoutdepressing the fifth lever 41 to the left side, when the pin 38 on thelever 39 slides up on the chuck opening cam surface 36 during the returnmovement. As a result, the first chuck release 30 does not open thechuck 13, so as not to cause the component piece to fall off. Also, thefirst cutting blade 14 does not interfere with a transfer movement ofthe chuck 13 holding the component piece, because it returns toward thecomponent supply unit 5 after it opens. The feeder 29 also returns toits original position, as needless to mention, in order to become readyfor a subsequent transfer movement.

As has been described, the component supply unit 5 of the presentexemplary embodiment is able to supply the component to the chuck 13smoothly, since it is provided with the first chuck release 30 foropening the chuck 13. This enables the component supply unit 5 toprovide a combined operation of supplying the component and opening thechuck 13.

Specifically, the foregoing structure is such that the first chuckrelease 30 is actuated by the chuck open cam surface 36 of the cam 31,which also actuates the feeder 29 for the chain of taped components 4provided on the component supply unit 5. Because only this single cam 31actuates both the feeder 29 for the chain of taped components 4 on thecomponent supply unit 5 and the first chuck release 30, the structurerealizes a combined operation of advancing the chain of taped components4 and holding it by the chuck 13, and thereby making a smooth supply ofthe components to the chuck 13.

The component supply unit 5 is also provided with the first cuttingblade 14 between the feeder 29 and the chuck 13. The first cutting blade14 has such a structure that it is actuated by the cutting bladeopen/close cam surface 43 and the cutting blade shift cam surface 44 ofthe cam 31. Since the cam 31 also actuates the first cutting blade 14,in addition to the feeder 29 and the first chuck release 30, thisstructure realizes a combined operation of using the feeder 29 toadvance the chain of taped components 4, using the first cutting blade14 to cut the chain into separate component pieces, and using the chuck13 to hold the component piece. Consequently, there is a smooth supplyof the components to the chuck 13.

The component supply unit 5 is provided with the element detector 33 fordetecting the presence or absence of an element 24 on the chain of tapedcomponents 4, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. The element detector 33detects an element 24, or (more correctly) an absence of element 24 ifit does not detect lead terminals 25 under the ordinary operatingcondition. If the element detector 33 detects absence of element 24, itactuates the cylinder 32 to return the cam 31 to the position shown inFIG. 4, after shifting it for only a first amount of movement (to theposition of FIG. 8).

In other words, the element detector 33 is used to expedite delivery tothe chuck 13, of a portion carrying an element 24 in the chain of tapedcomponents 4, by shifting the cam 31 for a second amount of movement (toa position of FIG. 10), without activating the first cutting blade 14 tomake a cutting operation of the chain of taped components 4, if noelement 24 is detected. In this case, however, there is a long piece ofthe taping member 26 left uncut under the chuck 13 and inside of thebelt 6 with the component piece held by the chuck 13, and this piece ofthe taping member 26 is therefore cut into a predetermined lengthafterwards by the second cutting blade 15.

After the component piece is transferred to the chuck 13 in the abovemanner, the motor 10 is started and the component piece is carried bythe belt 6. There is an extra-length detector 58 positioned at adownstream side of a component supply to the chuck 13 location on thebelt 6 from the component supply unit 5 for detecting the presence orabsence of a long piece of the taping member 26, as shown in FIG. 12.This extra-length detector 58 activates the second cutting blade 15 tocut the long piece of taping member 26 into the predetermined length.That is, if the chuck 13 on the belt 6 carries the taping member 26 in alength longer than a predetermined length, the extra-length detector 58detects it and activates the second cutting blade 15 to cut it into theproper length.

The extra-length detector 58 comprises an optical system having alight-emitting element and a light-receiving element. It determines thata long piece of the taping member 26 is present, if light is cut off byan extra long portion of the taping member 26. When the extra-lengthdetector 58 detects a long piece of the taping member 26, an elevator 59lifts the second cutting blade 15 upward from a lower position, and thesecond cutting blade 15 cuts an extra length of the taping member 26 atthe lifted position. The second cutting blade 15 is moved down to itslower position by the elevator 59 after it completes the cuttingoperation. Because of this structure, wherein the second cutting blade15 moves up only to cut a long piece of the taping member 26, and movesdown after the cutting, the second cutting blade 15 does not interferewith the belt 6 which carries the components.

FIG. 13 shows a polarity flipper unit 16 provided at a downstream sideof the second cutting blade 15. The polarity flipper unit 16 is freelymovable toward and away from the belt 6. That is, the polarity flipperunit 16 is moved toward the belt 6 at a side of the chuck 13 if a needarises for the polarity of the component to be reversed prior tomounting it on a substrate using the head 20. The polarity flipper unit16 reverses the polarity of a component by receiving the component fromthe chuck 13, rotating it, and returning it again to the chuck 13 forthe successive carrying movement. Since the polarity flipper unit 16stays away from the chuck 13 when it is not required to reversepolarity, it does not interfere with carriage of the components. Thechuck 13 needs to be opened for a moment in order to give and take thecomponent piece to and from the polarity flipper unit 16, shown in FIG.13. A structure to carry out this function will be described byreferring to FIG. 14.

As shown in FIG. 14, one end ofthe chuck 13 opposite to the hook 55ofthe movable nail 53 is extended to the backside of the belt 6, andthis extended end is linked to a second chuck release 63, so that thechuck 13 is opened by the second chuck release 63.

FIG. 15 shows a hold position correction unit 17 provided at adownstream side of the polarity flipper unit 16. The hold positioncorrection unit 17 carries out correction of a position of the leadterminals 25 held by the chuck 13, after the polarity flipper unit 16 ofFIG. 13 has reversed polarity of the component needing the reversion.

The hold position correction unit 17 comprises: a positioning base 60for setting thereon a bottom edge of the taping member 26; a holder 61for holding the taping member 26 by two sides orthogonal to alongitudinal direction thereof, and push bodies 62 for shifting thecomponent by pushing the lead terminals 25 of the component along thelongitudinal direction of the taping member 26.

When making a correction, the taping member 26 is set first on thepositioning base 60. Then the taping member 26 is centralized by thepush bodies 62 at both sides for the correction of a hold position ofthe lead terminals 25, after opening the chuck 13 with another secondchuck release 63 having the same structure as the one shown in FIG. 14and provided in a position relative to the chuck 13. The chuck 13 isthen closed to hold the lead terminals 25 properly.

FIG. 16 shows a portion around a third cutting blade (i.e., a leadterminal cutting blade) 18 provided at a downstream side of the holdposition correction unit 17 for cutting the lead terminals 25. The thirdcutting blade 18 is freely movable toward and away from the chuck 13 onthe belt 6. That is, the third cutting blade 18 can cut the leadterminals 25 properly, since it cuts the lead terminals 25 only aftercompletion of the correction of the hold position using the chuck 13.

The third cutting blade 18 comprises a pair of openable blades 64, ofwhich lower surfaces at their distal portion are tapered. Lengths of thelead terminals 25 are made uniform after the cutting, since they are cutwhile an upper edge of the taping member 26 of the component piece heldby the chuck 13 is kept in contact with the tapered surfaces.

FIG. 17 shows a component transfer unit 19 for transferring a componentheld by the chuck 13 to the head 20. The component transfer unit 19 hasa structure that includes two grip nails 65 and 66 for holding lowerportions of the lead terminals 25, as shown in FIG. 18, and a supportnail 67 for supporting upper portions of the lead terminals 25.

The first grip nail 65 of the two grip nails is integrated with thesupport nail 67, and the second grip nail 66 is arranged to be movablewith respect to the grip nail 65. Because of the integration of the gripnail 65 with the support nail 67, the structure is simplified, and itprovides reliable support for the lead terminals 25 by moving the gripnail 66 as depicted in FIG. 19.

FIG. 20 and FIG. 21 show a transfer movement of a component from thecomponent transfer unit 19 to the head 20, wherein portions of the leadterminals 25 located between the grip nails 65 and 66 and the supportnail 67 of the component transfer unit 19 are gripped by an insertionnail 68 of the head 20. Because of this structure, in which theinsertion nail 68 of the head 20 holds the leaditerminals 25 so as tosupport them at both upper and lower portions by gripping their centerportions, the insertion nails 68 can maintain a stable holding, and, asa result, the head 20 can carry out reliable mounting of the componenton a substrate.

FIG. 22 through FIG. 24 show sequential operation of the componenttransfer unit 19. FIG. 22 shows an ordinary operation ofthe componenttransfer unit 19. In the figure, a transfer chuck 69 first moves towarda side of the chuck 13 as indicated by arrows “A”, advances furthertoward an element 24 held by the chuck 13 as indicated by arrows “B”while maintaining its posture, and catches the element 24 in the sameposture. The transfer chuck 69 then moves toward a side of the insertionnail 68 of the head 20 as shown by arrows “C”, and returns to theoriginal position by following the arrows “A” after it hands over theelement 24 to the insertion nail of the head 20. The foregoing operationas depicted in FIG. 22 takes place under the ordinary mode. During theordinary operation shown in FIG. 22, the insertion nail 68 of the head20 mounts the element 24 on the substrate after it receives the element24. In case of an error in the mounting (e.g., if the insertion nail 68fails to insert the lead terminals 25 of the element 24 into mountingholes in the substrate, and thus causes the element 24 to fall down) thefailure is recovered in a manner which is shown in FIG. 23. In a statein which the element 24 has fallen down, the transfer chuck 69 hashanded over another element 24 to the insertion nail 68 of the head 20.Therefore, the new element 24 must be returned again from the insertionnail 68 of the head 20 to the transfer chuck 69. Specifically, thetransfer chuck 69 receives the new element 24 from the insertion nail68, and stays standing after it moves back toward a direction of arrows“D” to a distant position away from the head 20, as shown in FIG. 23.Since the transfer chuck 69 normally opens when it leaves the insertionnail 68 of the head 20 (in the direction of arrows “A” to be specific),it needs to remain closed in order to move it while holding the element24 in such a direction indicated by arrows “D” or arrows “G” in FIG. 23and FIG. 24, by depressing a rotary plate 77, which will be describedlater, with a manipulator (vertically-moving mechanism) 81 on a drivingbody 80 constituting an exemplified structure of a specialopening/closing mechanism. The insertion nail 68 of the head 20, whichhas been unloaded in the above step, is actuated manually, for instance,to hold the lead terminals 25 of the previously fallen down element 24,and to remount the element 24. Once the remounting is completed, thetransfer chuck 69 is advanced along arrows “E”, so that it hands overthe previously withheld element 24 to the head 20, and it completes therecovery operation upon returning to the original position. The transferchuck 69 again resumes its normal operation shown in FIG. 22, andrepeats the ordinary mounting. FIG. 24 shows another operation thatcopes with a case in which the insertion nail 68 of the head 20 fails tomount the element 24 on the substrate, wherein the failed element 24 isnot reusable. In this instance, the insertion nail 68 needs to againobtain another element 24, which is identical to the failed andnon-reusable element 24 among those carried by the belt 6, and to mountthe element 24. For this purpose, the transfer chuck 69 receives asucceeding element 24, which it has once handed over to the insertionnail 68 after moving toward arrows “F”, and sends it back to the chuck13 attached to the belt 6 by moving along arrows “G”, followed byreturning again to the position in front of the insertion nail 168 ofthe head 20. After the belt 6 rotates to carry away the previouslydescribed failed element 24 while maintaining the above state, thetransfer chuck 69 moves through the locus shown in FIG. 22 to receivethe element 24 from the chuck 13 attached to the belt 6, to pass it overto the insertion nail 68 of the head 20, and to complete the recoveryoperation for the mounting error. As described above, as shown in FIG.22 through FIG. 24, the component transfer unit 19 operates in such amanner as to arcuately turn the transfer chuck 69, or to shift thetransfer chuck 69 inside and outside of the arcuate locus while keepingthe same posture. In order for the component transfer unit 19 to operatein the above manner, it is so constructed as depicted in FIG. 25 throughFIG. 34. The component transfer unit 19 is provided with three axles 70,71 and 72, which are coaxial with one another, as shown in FIG. 25, FIG.28, FIG. 29, FIG. 31 and FIG. 33. The first axle 70 is provided at anoutermost position of the three axles, and rotates the componenttransfer unit 19. The second axle 71 is provided at an inner side of theaxle 70, and shifts the transfer chuck 69 toward the insertion nail 68of the head 20, toward the chuck 13 on the belt 6, or toward an oppositeside thereof. The third axle 72 is provided at an innermost side, andopens and closes the transfer chuck 69. They will be described now inmore detail below. The first axle 70 at the outermost position has ahorizontally extended cam attached to an upper portion of it, althoughnot shown in FIG. 25, and a lever is also provided for driving the cam.The lever, in combination with the cam, rotates the component transferunit 19 in the manner as depicted in FIG. 23 and FIG. 24. The secondaxle 71 in the middle position will be described next. The second axle71 in the middle is rotatably linked to a shift lever 73 at a lower endportion of it, as shown in FIG. 31. The shift lever 73 is L-shaped, asshown in FIG. 29, FIG. 31 and FIG. 33, and a center portion of it ispivoted with a fourth axle 74. Accordingly, a lower end of the shiftlever 73 shifts the transfer chuck 69 toward the insertion nail 68 ofthe head 20, as is obvious between FIG. 29 and FIG. 31, when the otherend of the shift lever 73 is pushed downwardly at the lower end portionof the second axle 71 from a position shown in FIG. 29 to anotherposition in FIG. 31. The third axle 72 located at the innermost positionwill be described next. As shown in FIG. 26 and FIG. 27, a lever 75 isattached at its upper end to a lower end of the third axle 72, and aroller 76 is mounted on a lower end of the lever 75. The roller 76 ispositioned to be in contact with an upper surface of the rotary plate77. The rotary plate 77 is securely fixed to the rotary axle 78, and aleft end of the rotary axle 78, as depicted in FIG. 26, is connected toa lever 79 for sliding the grip nail 66, which composes the transferchuck 69. In other words, only the grip nail 66 is made to slide withrespect to the grip nail 65 and the support nail 67, among the threenails 65, 66 and 67 composing the transfer chuck 69, and this isaccomplished by the lever 79. A rotary movement of the lever 79 thusslides the grip nail 66, so as to hold or release the lead terminals 25of the element 24, as has been described. The transfer chuck 69 needs tobe operated, i.e. opened and closed, at each of its shifted positionsinside and outside of the rotational arc of the transfer chuck 69 asshown in FIG. 22 through FIG. 24. Although the opening and closingoperation is made by the axle 72 provided at the innermost position, theroller 76 attached to the lower end of the axle 72 must be capable ofpushing down the rotary plate 77 at any shifted positions, both insideand outside of the rotational arc of the transfer chuck 69, in order toopen and close the transfer chuck 69 by a vertical movement alone of theaxle 72. Conversely, the rotary plate 77 is made into a board-like shapein line with the rotary axle 78, as shown in FIG. 26 and FIG. 27, inorder for the roller 76 to rotate the rotary axle 78 via the rotaryplate 77. The transfer chuck 69 can thus open and close only with avertical movement of the axle 72, by providing the board-shaped rotaryplate 77.

The foregoing structure can downsize, simplify, and improve anoperational reliability of an assembly for turning shifting, and openingor closing the transfer chuck 69, by providing a coaxial arrangement ofthe first axle 70 defining a turning means for rotating the transferchuck 69, the second axle 71 defining a shifting means for shifting thetransfer chuck 69 inside and outside of the rotational arc of thetransfer chuck 69, and the third axle 72 defining an opening/closingmeans for opening or closing the transfer chuck 69 after it is shiftedby the shifting means.

FIG. 35 depicts the head 20. The head 20 comprises a main head body 80having a side wall 80 a resembling the letter L in cross section and atop wall 80 b, a vertically-moving mechanism (manipulator) 81 for themain head body 80, an insertion nail 68 provided under the main headbody 80, an opening/closing mechanism 82 for opening the insertion nail68, and a turning mechanism 83 for moving the insertion nail 68 in aforward-to-backward direction. A cam plate 84, which constitutes a partof the turning mechanism 83, is detachably mounted on the main head body80, as will be described later. The vertically-moving mechanism(manipulator) 81 comprises an external axle 81 a fixed to the top wall80 b of the main head body 80, and an internal axle 81 b arranged in theexternal axle 81 a. The cam plate 84 is detachably mounted with a screw81 d on a mount plate 81 c attached to a lower end of the internal axle81 b disposed in the external axle 81 a.

The turning means 83 has the following structure. As shown in FIG. 35and FIG. 36, the turning mechanism 83 has a rotary axle 83a supportedaxially in through holes “A” provided at two locations in the sidewall80 a of the main head body 80. An opening/closing lever 85, whichrepresents an example of a driving lever shown in FIG. 38, and a springlever 86 shown in FIG. 35 are integrally fixed to the rotary axle 83 aon its right side and left side respectively as viewed in FIG. 35.Furthermore, a U-shaped rotary body 87 is provided behind theopening/closing lever 85.

A right side wall 87 a of the rotary body 87 passes through an opening81 e in the side wall 80 a of the main head body 80, and protrudes at aside of the main head body 80, as shown in FIG. 35. Also, a leftsidewall 87 b of the rotary body 87 protrudes forwardly at the outsideof the main head body 80. The right sidewall 87 a and the left sidewall87 b are rotatably supported in this posture by the rotary axle 83 adisposed in through holes “B”.

The rotary body 87 is provided with a lever 87 c extending forwardlyfrom an outer surface of the sidewall 87 b, as shown in FIG. 37. A frontend of the lever 87 c stays in contact with a butt section 80 c at alower end of the main head body 80, so as to prevent a further movementof the rotary body 87 beyond that shown in FIG. 35.

An upper end of the first insertion nail 68 a is fixed to a bottom wall87 d of the rotary body 87, as shown in FIG. 35 and FIG. 38, with afastener although not shown in the figures.

The first insertion nail 68 a and the second insertion nail 68 b areengaged together, and the second insertion nail 68 b is pivotallysupported at its center to a center of the first insertion nail 68 awith a pin 88. The above engagement of the first and the secondinsertion nails 68 a and 68 b can attain a reduction in size, facilitatea precise positional alignment between the first and the secondinsertion nails 68 a and 68 b, and thereby improving reliability of theoperation.

The first and the second insertion nails 68 a and 68 b are provided withthree grip nails 89 through 91 and 92 through 94 at each of their tipends, for a total of six nails, as shown in FIG. 39. Even if componentshave three lead terminals 25, these grip nails 89 through 94 are able tohold all of the lead terminals 25 reliably, as shown in FIG. 40 and FIG.41. Because these lead terminals 25 are held individually between thegrip nails 89 through 91 and 92 through 94 of the first and the secondinsertion nails 68 a and 68 b, intervening spaces between the leadterminals 25 are not altered, thereby resulting in a smooth mounting ofthe component.

On the contrary, in the case of another structure, which holds the leadterminals 25 at two sides of an insertion nail 89A with each of otherinsertion nails 89B and 89C, as shown in FIG. 59 and FIG. 60, anintervening space between the lead terminals 25 varies between “A” and“A+α” depending on the thickness of the lead terminals 25. This canresult in the lead terminals 25 being eccentric with respect to viaholes 107 in a substrate 106, so as to carry a risk of mountingfailures. As best shown in FIGS. 35 and 38, the insertion nail 68 andcam plate 84 are arranged so that the vertical distance between anuppermost portion of the insertion nail 68 and a lowermost portion ofthe cam plate 84 is less than the height of the cam plate 84. Althoughnot drawn to scale in order to clearly illustrate other features of theinvention, FIG. 52 shows the height H of the cam plate 84 and thevertical distance d between the uppermost portion of the insertion nail68 and lowermost portion of cam plate 84.

Reference is made again to FIG. 39 through FIG. 41 for the followingdescription. The grip nail 92 at one side of the second insertion nail68 b is so constructed that it has a narrower intervening space andlarger flexibility than either the grip nail 94 at the other side andthe grip nail 93 in the middle. By providing the second grip nail 68 bwith the grip nail 92 having the narrower intervening space than theother grip nails 93 and 94, the second grip nail 68 b is able to hold acomponent securely with the flexible grip nail 92, even if terminals ofthe component are deviated in diameter. In other words, the second gripnail 68 b provided with the grip nail 92 having narrower interveningspace and more flexibility is now able to make effective use of thisflexible grip nail 92 also to hold the lead terminals 25, whereas onlyone pair of the grip nails of the first and the second insertion nails68 a and 68 b would otherwise hold the lead terminals 25, in the case ofa component having a terminal of larger diameter.

The cam follower 95 is provided rotatably on a top end of the secondinsertion nail 68 b, as shown in FIG. 38. This cam follower 95 stays incontact with the cam surface 96 at a left end ofthe opening/closinglever 85. In addition, the cam follower 97 at a right end oftheopening/closing lever 85 stays in contact with a cam surface 98 of thecam plate 84 as shown in FIG. 38. In the above structure, a spring 101and a spring 104 are placed to provide spring tensions between a pin 99of the spring lever 86 and a pin 100 on the butt section 80 c of themain head body 80, and between a pin 102 of the rotary body 87 and a pin103 on the butt section respectively as shown in FIG. 35. Also, thespring 105 is placed between the lever 87 c and an upper portion of thesecond insertion nail 68 b to provide a repulsive (pushing) force.

These components operate in a manner as described below. First, thetransfer chuck 69 of the component transfer unit 19 hands over anelement 24 to the insertion nail 68 at an upper position, as shown inFIG. 42. At this moment, the first and the second insertion nails 68 aand 68 b need to be opened as shown in FIG. 40. In order to accomplishthis, the internal axle 81 b of the vertically moving mechanism 81 isdepressed downwardly, which in turn depresses the opening/closing lever85 via the cam plate 84. Subsequently, the cam surface 96 of theopening/closing lever 85 shifts backward, and the cam follower 95 on theupper end of the second insertion nail 68 b moves to a front side of thecam surface 96. This allows the repulsive force of the spring 105 topush the upper portion of the second insertion nail 68 b toward theright side in FIG. 35 and FIG. 38. As a result, the first and the secondinsertion nails 68 a and 68 b open as shown in FIG. 40, and the element24 is transferred from the transfer chuck 69.

Next, the internal axle 81 b rises in order to close the first and thesecond insertion nails 68 a and 68 b. The lead terminals 25 are heldamong the grip nails 89 through 94, as shown in FIG. 41, and the element24 is thus held up as shown in FIG. 43. The external axle 81 a and theinternal axle 81 b are operable to move downward (simultaneously), so asto lower the main head body 80 toward a substrate 106, as shown in FIG.44, thereby inserting the lead terminals 25 into via holes 107 in thesubstrate 106 as illustrated in FIG. 49. During this movement, a catchpin 108 rises up in its position underneath the substrate 106, and waitsfor the lead terminals 25 to come down. When the lead terminals 25 areinserted into the via holes 107, a pusher 109 disposed coaxially in theinternal axle 81 b is lowered so as to contact a top of the element 24,so that the element 24 is caught at the top and bottom ends between thepusher 109 and the catch pin 108.

FIG. 45 depicts the first and the second insertion nails 68 a and 68 bin their open position as shown in FIG. 40 as the internal axle 81 b isdepressed. However, the element 24 does not fall down even after it isreleased from the first and the second insertion nails 68 a and 68 b,since the element 24 is held now at the top and bottom ends of it by thepusher 109 and the catch pin 108, as depicted in FIG. 49. With theelement 24 in this posture, the insertion nail 68 retracts away from theelement 24, as shown in FIG. 50. When the insertion nail 68 completesthe retraction, the pusher 109 and the catch pin 108 start moving downuntil a bottom end of the element 24 finally touches an upper surface ofthe substrate 106 as shown in FIG. 46 and FIG. 51. The catch pin 108moves further down, as shown in FIG. 51, while the top surface of theelement 24 is kept pushed by the pusher 109. Mounting of the element 24is completed thereafter, when the anvil mechanism 23, although not shownin the figures, cuts and clinches the lower ends of the lead terminals25. During this operation, the insertion nail 68 moves up while shiftingbackward as shown in FIG. 46 through FIG. 48.

The insertion nail 68 shifts backward in the following manner. Theinternal axle 81 b stays at its lower position with respect to theexternal axle 81 a, in order to keep the first and the second insertionnails 68 a and 68 b open. While keeping the internal axle 81 b at thedepressed position, only the external axle 81 a is lifted. This movementalso provides the opening/closing lever 85 with a lifting force, sincethe opening/closing lever 85 is attached to the external axle 81 atogether with the main head body 80. However, because the cam plate 84fixed to the internal axle 81 b remains at its lower position, theopening/closing lever 85 turns downwardly as shown by arrow “K” in FIG.35. A rear edge 110 in the back side of the cam surface 96 eventuallycomes in contact with a butt surface 111 inside the side wall 87 b ofthe rotary body 87 below the through hole “B”, and it turns the rotarybody 87 backward in a direction shown by arrow “S” in FIG. 37. As therotary body 87 is provided with the insertion nail 68, as describedabove, the insertion nail 68 moves upwardly while turning backward in amanner to avoid the mounted element 24, as shown in FIG. 46 and FIG. 47.In the, step of FIG. 47, the internal axle 81 b starts moving upward,and the insertion nail 68 also moves radually into its original postureas shown in FIG. 48. The pusher 109, which is coaxial with the internalaxle 81 b, also starts moving upward at the moment shown in FIG. 47.

One of the distinctive features of this exemplary embodiment is that thecam plate 84 is easily removable from the mount plate 81 c andreplaceable by removing a screw 81 d. Thus, the cam plate 84 can beeasily replaced with alternate cam plates, so as to change the path ofmovement of cam follower 97 and, thus insertion nail 68, as describedfurther below.

FIG. 52 through FIG. 54 show a case wherein there is a large spacebetween elements 24 on a substrate 106, and FIG. 55 through FIG. 57 showanother case wherein there is a small space between elements 24 on asubstrate 106. In the case shown in FIG. 52 through FIG. 54, theinsertion nail 68 does not strike any elements 24 already mounted behindthe insertion nail 68, even if an amount of backward removement (amountof retractive movement) is increased in order for the insertion nail 68to cope with large elements 24 such as those shown in FIG. 52 throughFIG. 54, because the space between the elements 24 is large enough.

However, if the space is reduced between the elements 24 on thesubstrate 106 in an attempt to increase mounting density on thesubstrate 106, the insertion nail 68 may strike the element 24 behind itwhen the insertion nail 68 makes a large retractive movement backward.In this case, it is often likely that smaller size elements 24, such asthose shown in FIG. 55 through FIG. 57, are used as compared to the caseof FIG. 52 through FIG. 54. It is therefore necessary to reduce theamount of backward movement (amount of retractive movement) of theinsertion nail 68.

This object is accomplished in the present exemplary embodiment byremoving the screw 81 d and replacing the cam plate 84. The cam plate 84shown in FIG. 55 through FIG. 57 has a longer slope 84 a on a camsurface contacting the cam follower 97, and a top wall 84 b in a higherposition as compared to the other cam plate 84 shown in FIG. 52 throughFIG. 54. As described above, since the insertion nail 68 moves backwardas the cam follower 97 is pushed relative to the cam surface of camplate 84, and eventually turns the rotary body 87, the backward movementof the insertion nail 68 can be altered from a phantom line “Y” to asmaller phantom line “X” in FIG. 58, if the slope 84 a of the cam plate84 is longer and the top wall 84 b is higher. This enables the head 20to mount the element 24, as shown in FIG. 56, even if there is a limitedspace between the elements 24 on the substrate 106, and thereby increasethe mounting density of the elements 24 on the substrate 106.

FIG. 61 through FIG. 64 depict catch pins. A catch pin 108 a has acircular recess at a top of it, a catch pin 108 b has a conoidal recess,a catch pin 108 c has a deep recess, and a catch pin 108 d is made outof a cylinder.

All of the catch pins 108, or 108 a through 108 d are made to havediameters greater than a diameter of the via hole (through-hole) 107perforated in the substrate 106, as shown in FIG. 49. The head 20 isable to mount the element 24 reliably on the substrate 106 by positivelyholding the top and the bottom of the element 24 with the pusher 109 andthe catch pin 108, or 108 a through 108 d, even if the lead terminals 25of the element 24 are slightly eccentric, because the catch pins 108, or108 a through 108 d are greater in diameter than the via hole(through-hole) 107 in the substrate 106.

As has been described, the component mounting apparatus of the presentexemplary embodiment comprises: the component delivery unit; the chuck13 provided on the component delivery unit; the component transfer unit19 for receiving a component held by the chuck 13; and the head 20 forreceiving the component held by the component transfer unit 19. The head20 comprises: the main head body 80; the vertically-moving mechanism 81for moving the main head body 80; the insertion; nail 68 provided at thebottom portion of the main head body 80; the opening/closing mechanism82 of the insertion nail 68; and the turning mechanism 83 for moving theinsertion nail 68 in forward and backward directions. The cam plate 84,which is a portion of the turning means 83, is mounted detachably on themain head body 80, so that a locus of backward movement of the insertionnail 68 (i.e. a retractive path of the insertion nail 68 after mountinga component) can be altered readily by mounting another cam plate 84having a different shape on the main head body 80. This can result in anincrease of mounting density of components on a substrate, and animprovement of workability, since all that is necessary is to replaceonly the cam plate 84, without requiring any alignment of the insertionnail 68 with respect to the substrate after the replacement.

FIG. 65 depicts the anvil mechanism 23.

The anvil mechanism 23 comprises: a mounting base 112 having two slantsurfaces 112 a opposed to each other; first through third movable blades113, 114 and 115, and first and second fixed blades 116 and 117, all ofwhich are disposed on the slant surfaces 112 a of the mounting base 112as shown in FIG. 75; the previously described catch pin 108; and arotating and vertically moving mechanism.

The rotating and vertically moving mechanism will be describedhereinafter. A reference numeral 118 in FIG. 65 is a base, whichrepresents a basis of movement, and the base 118 neither rotates normoves vertically. A rotary bearing 119 is fixed to the base 118, and arotary axle 120 is rotatably supported on the inside of the rotarybearing 119. A timing pulley 121 is fixed to a lower end of the rotaryaxle 120, and a belt is looped up around the timing pulley 121, thoughthe belt is not shown in the figure.

A cylinder 122 is placed inside of the rotary axle 120 so that thecylinder 122 rotates together with the rotary axle 120, but so that itis freely movable vertically with respect to the rotary axle 120. A camfollower, not shown in the figure, is engaged in a cain followerreceptacle 124 at a lower end of the cylinder 122, and the cam followermoves the mounting base 112 together with the cylinder 122.

In other words, the mounting base 112 is fixed on top of the cylinder122. The cylinder 122 also has an operating rod 123 arranged inside insuch a manner that the operating rod 123 rotates together with thecylinder 122, but it is freely movable vertically with respect to thecylinder 122.

Another cam follower, also not shown in the figure, is engaged in a camfollower receptacle 125 at a lower end of the operating rod 123, and thecam follower vertically moves the operating rod 123, which in turn opensand closes the first through third movable blades 113 through 115 shownin FIG. 75, via a coupling lever 126.

Furthermore, the operating rod 123 has a cylinder 127 arranged inside sothat the cylinder 127 is rotatable together with the operating rod 123.The cylinder 127 is also vertically movable freely with respect to theoperating rod 123, and the vertical movement is produced by a camfollower, which is not shown in the figure, engaged in a cam followerreceptacle 128.

The catch pins 108 are mounted on a top end of the cylinder 127 as shownin FIG. 82 and FIG. 83. Specifically, a supporting body 129 is disposedto bridge across an upper end opening of the cylinder 127. As shown inFIG. 83, the supporting body 129 has a board-like (substantially flat)shape, and a supporting pin 130 is inserted horizontally through theboard-like supporting body 129. The catch pins 108 are secured in thesupporting body 129 with their lower ends butted on the supporting pin130, so that the heights of the catch pins 108 become uniform, andthereby lower ends of the lead terminals 25 are supported uniformly bythe catch pins 108.

An upper peripheral portion ofthe cylinder 127 has a male thread 131,and a notch 132 is provided from the top end of the cylinder 127vertically downward through the male thread 131 as shown in FIG. 83 andFIG. 84. The supporting pin 130 is engaged in the notch 132. Thisengagement of the supporting pin 130 in the notch 132 of the cylinder127 fixes the heights of the catch pins 108 with respect to the cylinder127, thereby resulting in a uniform support of the lower ends of thelead terminals 25 by the catch pins 108. In addition, a fitting body 133is provided under the supporting body 129 to fit into an inside of thecylinder 127, so as to prevent the supporting body 129 from wobbling.

A cap 135 having a female thread around an internal periphery and anopening 134 on top is screwed detachably over the top end of thecylinder 127 in the above arrangement. The cap 135 screw-fitted on thetop end not only prevents the catch pins 108 from coming off upwardly,but also makes the catch pins 108 replaceable with ease, when necessary,by removing the cap 135.

The mounting base 112 will be described next. The mounting base 112 isprovided with the first through third movable blades 113, 114 and 115,and the first and second fixed blades 116 and 117, all mounted using theopposing pair of slant surfaces 112 a, as has been described. They arepositioned relative to one another as shown in FIG. 75 and FIG. 76. Thatis, two of the movable blades, 113 and 114, and one of the fixed blades,117, are positioned at one side, and the one remaining movable blade 115and the fixed blade 116 are positioned at the other side, so as to becapable of cutting all three lead terminals 25 at once. The first andthe second fixed blades 116 and 117 are provided with their respectiveguide surfaces 136 and 137 at sides facing outward in this arrangement,as shown in FIG. 75 and FIG. 76. Cutting edges 138, 139 and 140 areformed beside the guide surfaces 136 and 137, pointing toward theirrespective counterparts, the first and the second movable blades 113 and114, as well as the third movable blade 115. The first through thirdmovable blades 113, 114 and 115, and the first and second fixed blades116 and 117 are therefore in their open positions at the moments shownin FIG. 75 and FIG. 76.

The lead terminals 25 are inserted when the blades are open, and theyare cut off when the cutting edges 138 through 140 and the first throughthird movable blades 113 through 115 are closed, details of which willbe later described.

It is important to prevent an undesirable gap from being developedbetween the first through third movable blades 113 through 115 and thecutting edges 138 through 140 of the first and second fixed blades 116and 117 in order to cut the lead terminals 25. In the present exemplaryembodiment, the first and the second fixed blades 116 and 117 areloosely set on the slant surfaces 112 a of the mounting base 112 inorder to achieve the above object. Initially, the first and secondmovable blades 113 and 114, as a pair, are slid over the slant surface112 a of the mounting base 112 up to positions which are slightly aboveanticipated points where the movable blades meet with the cutting edges138 and 139 of the first fixed blade 116. The first fixed blade 116 isthen pushed up along the slant surface 112 a of the mounting base 112.This brings the guide surface 136 of the first fixed blade 116 intocontact with a lower surface of the first movable blade 113, which isalready in the slid up position. The first fixed blade 116 is nowsecured to the mounting base 112 at this point.

The above procedure assures that the first movable blade 113 slides upalong the guide surface 136 of the first fixed blade 116, after itslides up over the slant surface 112 a. As a result, no undesirable gapis created between the first movable blade 113 and the cutting edge 138of the first fixed blade 116, and thereby the lead terminal 25 is cutsmoothly. Also, since the second movable blade 114 slides over the sameslant surface 112 a of the mounting base 112 as the first movable blade113, an undesirable gap is also prevented between the second movableblade 114 and the second cutting edge 139, when the first fixed blade116 is properly positioned according to the above procedure. Hence, thelead terminal 25 can be cut smoothly by the second movable blade 114 andthe second cutting edge 139.

In the like manner, the third movable blade 115 is slid over the slantsurface 112 a of the mounting base 112 up to a position slightly abovean anticipated point where the movable blade 115 meets with the cuttingedge 140 of the second fixed blade 117, when setting a position of thesecond fixed blade 117. The second fixed blade 117 is then pushed upalong the slant surface 112 a of the mounting base 112 until the guidesurface 137 ofthe second fixed blade 117 comes in contact with a lowersurfade of the third movable blade 115. The second fixed blade 117 isthen secured to the mounting base 112 at this position after it contactswith the lower surface of the third movable blade 115. In this way, thethird movable blade 115 reaches the cutting edge 140 after sliding upalong the guide surface 137, when the third movable blade 115 is movedthereafter, and therefore no undesirable gap is made between the blades,thereby cutting the lead terminal 25 smoothly.

The next description pertains to mounting the element 24 on thesubstrate 106. FIG. 68 depicts a state just prior to the mounting, inwhich the mounting base 112 is located below the substrate 106, and theinsertion nail 68 is located above the substrate 106. From this state ofFIG. 68, the cam follower receptacles 125 and 128 are raised by theirrespective cam followers as shown in FIG. 69. Since the amount of riseof the cylinder 127 is set to be greater than that of the cylinder 122,the catch pins 108 move up near a lower surface of the substrate 106 asshown in FIG. 69.

The first through the third movable blades 113 through 115, and thefirst and the second fixed blades 116 and 117, are in their openpositions, as shown in FIG. 75 and FIG. 76, between the steps depictedin FIG. 68 through FIG. 72, and the catch pins 108 are thereforevertically movable through these openings. The lead terminals 25 arethen inserted through the via holes 107 in the substrate 106 by loweringthe insertion nail 68 until the lead terminals 25 contact the catch pins108. While maintaining this state, the pusher 109 is lowered from abovethe element 24 until it touches the element 24 as shown in FIG. 70. Thisway, the element 24 is held at the top and the bottom between the pusher109 and the catch pins 108, and the insertion nail 68 retracts outwardwith the element 24 held in this position, as shown in FIG. 70 and FIG.71. When the pusher 109 and the catch pins 108 are positioned in asynchronized motion, a bottom end of the element 24 comes to contactwith an upper surface of the substrate 106 as shown in FIG. 72, and thecatch pins 108 at one side move apart from the bottom ends of the leadterminals 25.

When the operating rod 123 is lowered next, as shown in FIG. 73, a pointof application (a first end) of the coupling lever 126 comes down, and apoint of action (an opposite second end) comes up around a fulcrum. Thismoves the first through the third movable blades 113 through 115 upward,so that the first through the third cutting edges 138 through 140 andthe first through the third movable blades 113 through 115 cut the leadterminals 25 in a manner as shown in FIG. 77 and FIG. 78. The firstthrough the third movable blades 113 through 115 slide up further beyondthat point along the slant surface 112 a, and bend the lead terminals 25at their lower ends, after cut off, toward the substrate 106 as shown inFIG. 79, so as to prevent the element 24 from coming out of the viaholes 107 in the substrate 106.

Fragments 141 ofthe: cut off lead terminals 25, shown in FIG. 78, fallinto the cylinder 127 through the opening 134 in the cap 135 shown inFIG. 82 and FIG. 83, and they are collected in a storage vessel providedbelow a bottom opening of the cylinder 127. The cylinder 122 is thenlowered together with the operating rod 123 as shown in FIG. 74. Duringthis lowering step, the amount of down movement of the cylinder 122 isset to be greater than that of the operating rod 123, which has beenlowered in the preceding step in FIG. 73, for bringing the cylinder 122and operating rod 123 Into the standby mode of FIG. 68.

The first through the third movable blades 113 through 115 and the firstand the second fixed blades 116 and 117 are replaceable by taking steps,which will be described hereinafter.

First, the mounting base 112 is freed from a mount section 143 at a topend of the cylinder 122, as shown in FIG. 65, by removing the screw 142shown in FIG. 66, and the mounting base 112 is rotated 90 degrees whilemaintaining its posture. The top end of the cylinder 123 is providedwith two flanges 144 and 145 around the periphery at a predeterminedspace as shown in FIG. 85, and the upper flange 144 has two cut-backportions 146 at opposite sides. Therefore, the coupling levers 126connected between the operating rod 123 and the mounting base 112 aredisengaged from the cut-back portions 146 by rotating the mounting base112 (or the operating rod 123) by 90 degrees, when removing the mountingbase 112. A connection of the mounting base 112 to the operating rod 123is easily made by rotating the mounting base 112, when reinstalling it,thereby providing good workability.

As shown in FIG. 67, the points of action (second end) ofthe couplinglevers 126 disengage from the first through the third movable blades 113through 115, when the mounting base 112 is removed from the operatingrod 123. Thus, the first through the third movable blades 113 through115, in particular, come off the slant surfaces 112 a due to their ownweight.

FIG. 80 and FIG. 81 depict another exemplary embodiment, in whichgrooves 147 are formed on top and bottom surfaces of the first throughthe third movable blades 113 through 115. The first through the thirdmovable blades 113 through 115 and the first and the second fixed blades116 and 117 produce pulverized cutting dust from cut-off portions of thelead terminals 25, when they cut off the lead terminals 25. The grooves147 can prevent the cutting dust falling from the upper and/or lowersurfaces of the first through the third movable blades 113 through 115from accumulating on these surfaces, and from impeding the first throughthe third movable blades 113 through 115 from sliding. In other words,the first through the third movable blades 113 through 115 will fail tooperate due to a jam between the first through the third movable blades113 through 115 and their sliding surfaces, if cutting dust falls andaccumulates upon the first through the third movable blades 113 through115 and the sliding surfaces. However, because the grooves 147 areformed on top and bottom surfaces of the first through the third movableblades 113 through 115, as described above, the cutting dust moves intothe grooves 147 as the first through the third movable blades 113through 115 slide. Consequently, operating failure can be avoided, sincethe cutting dust does not accumulate on the first through the thirdmovable blades 113 through 115 and the sliding surfaces.

In addition, a through hole 148 is provided between the lower end of theupper and lower grooves 147 for discharging through it the cutting dustmoved into the grooves 147. The through hole 148 can prevent the firstthrough the third movable blades 113 through 115 from eventually failingto operate, if the cutting dust accumulates in the grooves 147 by suchan amount that the grooves 147 no longer accept the cutting dust fromthe first through the third movable blades 113 through 115 and thesliding surfaces.

As has been described, the anvil mechanism 23 comprises: a mounting base112 having two slant surfaces 112 a opposed to each other; fixed blades116 and 117 mounted on one of the slant surfaces 112 a of the mountingbase 112; and movable blades 113 through 115 mounted on the other slantsurface 112 a of the mounting base 112. The fixed blades 116 and 117 aremounted on the mounting base 112 with a fixing means by sliding themovable blades 113 through 115, mounted on the slant surfaces 112 a ofthe mounting base 112, over the slant surfaces 112 a up to position,which are slightly above anticipated points where the movable blades 113through 115 meet with the fixed blades 116 and 117; and, whilemaintaining the above positions, setting positions of the fixed blades116 and 117 by sliding them upwardly over the slant surfaces 112 a ofthe mounting base 112 until they come in contact with the movable blades113 through 115. In other words, the fixed blades 116 and 117 and themovable blades 113 through 115 come to be in their proper positions withrespect to each other, when the fixed blades 116 and 117 are secured tothe mounting base 112 with the fixing means after they are set inpositions by sliding them upwardly over one slant surface 112 a of themounting base 112 until they come in contact with the movable blades 113through 115. The movable blades 113 through 115, mounted on the otherslant surface 112 a of the mounting base 112, are slid over that slantsurface 112 a and maintained in their positions above the points wherethe movable blades 113 through 115 are anticipated to meet with thefixed blades 116 and 117. Because of the above, the movable blades 113through 115 never collide with the fixed blades 116 and 117 during thesliding movement. Also, since the gap between the blades is notnecessarily too large in order to avoid collisions, they can cut thelead terminals 25 reliably.

FIG. 88 through FIG. 94 depict still another exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. In this exemplary embodiment, the pusher 109 isconstructed so that it is held in a standby position above an element 24representing a component, before it comes in contact with the element 24and presses it down toward the substrate 106. The standby position isadjusted according to a height of the element 24 held by the head 20. Asfor the structure, in particular, an upper end of the pusher 109 islinked freely movably, as shown in FIG. 88, with a point of action(first end) of a first lever 112K shown in FIG. 92 having a dog-leggedshape. The upper end of the pusher 109 is biased with a downward forceby a spring 113K at all times. A fulcrum 114K ofthe first lever 112K issupported axially by a second lever 115K shown in FIG. 93, and a camfollower 116K, which functions as a point of application of the firstlever 112K, engages a first cam 118K, which is supported axially by anaxle 117K. The second lever 115K is also supported axially by the axle117K, and a cam follower 119K serving as its point of applicationengages a second cam 121K, which is rotatably supported by an axle 120K.The second lever 115K is biased with a downward force by a spring 122Kat all times.

The foregoing structure operates in a nianner as described hereinafter.Described first is a case wherein a component (an element 24) to bemounted has a large height, as shown in FIG. 88. In this instance, aservomotor 124K shown in FIG. 94 rotates the first cam 118K, making gooduse of an idle time of the pusher 109 before the pusher 109 actuallydepresses the element 24 toward the substrate 106, so as to position thecam follower 116K in a recess of the first cam 118K. This causes thepoint of action (first end) of the first lever 112K to rotate downwardlyround the fulcrum 114K, and the pusher 109 slowly moves down until ittouches on the element 24. When the pusher 109 touches the element 24, acontact-sensitive switch (i.e. a detector 123K in FIG. 94), though notshown in the figures, calculates the height of the element 24 based on arotational angle of the first cam 118K.

This enables the apparatus to recognize the height of the element 24 tobe mounted now, and the pusher 109 is held in this position for astandby. Subsequently, the pusher 109 starts from this standby position,when it presses down the element 24 toward the substrate 106 as shown inFIG. 89. Although not shown in FIG. 88 through FIG. 91, there is thecatch pin 108 under the substrate 106. The pusher 109 and the catch pin108 mount the element 24 by holding it between the top of the element 24and bottom of the lead terminals 25, as shown in FIG. 49 through FIG.51.

FIG. 90 and FIG. 91 depict another case wherein the element 24 is smallin height. In this case, in the like manner as described above, thepusher 109 touches the element 24, as shown in FIG. 90, by rotating thefirst cam 118K during an idle time of the pusher 109 before the pusher109 starts a pressing motion. The cam follower 116K of the first lever112K stays at a position deeper in the recess of the first cam 118K, inthis case, as is obvious by comparing FIG. 90 with FIG. 88. This enablesthe apparatus to recognize the element 24 as being small in height, andthe pusher 109 starts the pressing movement hereafter as shown in FIG.91.

In the real mounting operation, the apparatus carries out a heightdetermination in the same manner as above for each element 24, even if100 pieces of the element 24 are mounted on each substrate 106 forinstance, and the results are all stored in a memory 125K shown in FIG.94 by way of a controller 126K. Accordingly, the apparatus makes use ofthe idling time to lower the pusher 109 in advance to a height equal toa sum of 1 mm, for example, added to the determined height of eachcomponent 24 when mounting on the second and subsequent substrates 106.The above operation substantially shortens the mounting time requiredfor lowering the pusher 109, since the pusher 109 starts pressing downeach of the elements 24 from the position of merely 1 mm above theelement 24 during the mounting operation.

A reason for making the pusher 109 stand by at 1 mm above the element,for example, will be described hereinafter. The pusher 109 is integrallyassembled with the head 20. The reason is therefore to prevent anelement 24 from striking the lowering pusher 109, when the componenttransfer unit 19 transfers the element 24 to the insertion nail 68 ofthe head 20, as shown in FIG. 21.

As described, the present exemplary embodiment comprises: a componenthaving lead terminals 25 extending downwardly, the head 20 for holdingand moving the component to a position where the lead terminals 25 areabove the via holes 107 to be inserted in the substrate 106; and thepusher 109 for pressing down the component held by the head 20 towardthe substrate 106. The pusher 109 is made to wait at the standbyposition above the component before it comes in contact with thecomponent and presses it toward the substrate. The standby position isdetermined according to a height of the component held by the head 20.Thus, the present exemplary embodiment shortens the time for the pusher109 to press the component, and therefore reduces a mounting time, sinceit adjusts the standby position vertically in advance according to aheight of the component to be mounted on the substrate.

FIG. 95 through FIG. 105 depict a transfer mechanism for transferring asubstrate 106 onto an X-Y table 22, which is utilized as an example of apositioning table, while guiding it through the rails 21 shown in FIG.1. The transfer mechanism of the present exemplary embodiment comprises:a shaft holder 112N; a transfer shaft 113N operable to move freely inand out from the shaft holder 112N toward the X-Y table 22; and atransfer pin 114N of FIG. 97 extending toward the substrate 106 at oneside of the transfer shaft 113N nearer to the X-Y table 22. The transferpin 114N is operable to slide on an axle 115N, which extends toward thesubstrate 106 at one side of the transfer shaft 113N nearer to the X-Ytable 22. A spring 116N is connected to the transfer pin 114N as abiasing means. A pin-shifting unit for shifting the transfer pin 114Ncomprises a lever 117N provided at one side of the shaft holder 112Nnearer to the X-Y table 22, and a lever actuator 118N linked to one endof the lever 117N. The other end of the lever 117N is linked to thetransfer pin 114N.

Each of the above-cited elements will now be described in more detail.The rails 21 shown in FIG. 1 are composed of longitudinally separatedportions connected at a right side of the X-Y table 22. Portions of therails 21 at the rightmost end shown in FIG. 1 are fixed to interiorsides of wall plates 120N as shown in FIG. 95, and their free ends (at aside nearer to the X-Y table 22) are vertically rotatable around a shaft119N. The shaft holder 112N is fixed to an exterior side of one of thewall plates 120N, and one end of this shaft holder 112N nearer to theX-Y table 22 is also vertically rotatable around the shaft 119N. Thetransfer shaft 113N is housed freely egressably within the shaft holder112N, and a belt 121N drives the transfer shaft 113N to egress andingress.

In the foregoing structure, as can be comprehended through thedescription of FIG. 95, the rightmost side portions of the rails 21shown in FIG. 1 are in such state that their ends nearest to the X-Ytable 22 are raised upward with the shaft 119N as an axis, as shown inFIG. 105. Belts 122N are provided on the rails 21 at both right and leftsides as shown in FIG. 95, and these belts 122N are driven to transferthe substrate 106 until the substrate 106 strikes a stopper (not shown)placed at a distal end of the rails 21, as shown in FIG. 100. An opticalsensor 123N is provided at a position immediately before the distal endof the rails 21. Although a motor (not shown) for driving the belt 122Nis deenergized when the substrate 106 passes by the optical sensor 123N,the inertia causes the substrate 106 to strike the stopper, and thesubstrate stays in position as described above. While keeping the aboveposition, the lever actuator 118N in FIG. 97 shifts a right end of thelever 117N toward left as shown in FIG. 98. A left end of the lever 117Nis linked to a recess 125N in a holder 124N of the transfer pin 114N asshown in FIG. 97, and the holder 124N is axially supported by the axle115N to be freely slidable. Therefore, the holder 124N, together withthe transfer pin 114N, slides down, if the left end of the lever 117Nmoves downward as shown in FIG. 98, so that the transfer pin 114N slipsinto a through hole 126N in the substrate 106 as shown in FIG. 98.

While maintaining the above condition, an end ofthe shaft holder 112Nmoves down about the shaft 119N as an axis, as shown in FIG. 101, so asto make the portions of rails 21 in this position shown in FIG. 95 flushwith the other portions of the rails 21 shown in FIG. 1 extending to theX-Y table 22. With the rails in the above position, the belt 121N isrotated in order to drive only the transfer shaft 113N to protrude fromthe shaft holder 112N toward the X-Y table 22 as shown in FIG. 102. Thisalso transfers the substrate 106 onto the X-Y table 22 as shown in FIG.99 and FIG. 102, and sets it in position. A push lever 127N is alsomounted integrally on a tip end of the holder 124N as shown in FIG. 96,and the push lever 127N pushes out another substrate 106, on which thehead 20 has already completed mounting of elements 24 on the X-Y table22, toward the rails 21 at a collecting end. Then, the transfer shaft113N is raised as shown in FIG. 103 with the shaft 119N as an axis, sothat the transfer pin 114N is disengaged from the through hole 126N inthe substrate 106. The substrate 106 on the X-Y table 22 is freedthereafter from constraint of the transfer pin 114N, and the X-Y table22 and the head 20 start operating for mounting elements 24.

Alternatively, the raised transfer shaft 113N enters into the shaftholder 112N due to reversed rotation of the belt 121N as shown in FIG.104. Then, the lever actuator 118N shifts the right end of the lever117N toward right in order to raise the transfer pin 114N upward via theholder 124N as shown in FIG. 97 and FIG. 105, and waits for arrival of asubsequent substrate 106.

In short, the present exemplary embodiment facilitates reduction inweight, and a resultant increase in speed, since one side of thetransfer shaft 113N nearer to the X-Y table 22 includes only thestructure comprising the transfer pin 114N and the spring 116N forbiasing the transfer pin 114N in a direction toward the substrate 106.

In the present exemplary embodiment, as described above, the transfermeans for transferring the substrate 106 being guided by the rails 21onto the X-Y table 22 comprises: the shaft holder 1 12N; the transfershaft. 113N operable to move freely in and out of the shaft holder 112Ntoward the X-Y table 22; the transfer pin 114N provided at one end ofthetransfer shaft 113N nearest to the X-Y table 22 in a manner to directtoward the substrate 106; the spring 116N for biasing the transfer pin114N toward the substrate 106; and the lever 117N provided at the end ofthe shaft holder 112N nearest to the X-Y table 22 for shifting thetransfer pin 114N to a side opposite to the substrate 106 against abiasing force of the spring 116N. Accordingly, since the transfer meanshas the structure, wherein one side of the transfer shaft nearer to thepositioning table has only the transfer pin 114N and the spring 116N forbiasing the transfer pin 114N toward the substrate 106, it facilitatesreduction in weight, and resultant increase of speediness.

Industrial Applicability

As has been described, a component mounting apparatus of the presentinvention comprises: a component delivery unit; a chuck provided on thecomponent delivery unit; a component transfer unit for receiving acomponent held by the chuck; and a head for receiving the component heldby the component transfer unit. The head comprises: a main head body; avertically-moving mechanism for the main head body; an insertion nailprovided at a bottom portion of the main head body; an opening/closingmechanism for the insertion nail; and a turning mechanism for moving theinsertion nail between forward and backward directions. A cam plateconstituting the turning mechanism is mounted detachably on the mainhead body, so that a locus of backward movement of the insertion nail(i.e. a retractive path for the insertion nails after mounting of acomponent) can be altered readily by mounting another cam plate having adifferent shape. This can result in an increase of mounting density ofcomponents on a substrate. In addition, it requires only a replacementof the cam plate, but no alignment of the insertion nail with respect tothe substrate after the replacement, thereby improving workability.

What is claimed is:
 1. A component mounting apparatus comprising: acomponent delivery unit; a chuck provided on said component deliveryunit; a component transfer unit for receiving a component held by saidchuck; and a head for receiving the component held by said componenttransfer unit, said head including: a main head body; a manipulatorconnected to said main head body and operable to move in a verticaldirection; an insertion nail provided at a bottom portion of said mainhead body; an opening/closing mechanism for opening and closing saidinsertion nail; and a turning mechanism for moving said insertion nailin forward and backward directions, wherein said turning mechanismcomprises a plurality of cam plates, each of said cam plates having acam surface and being operable to be detachably mounted to said mainhead body, said cam plates having differently-shaped cam surfacescorresponding to different paths of movement of said insertion nail suchthat when a first one of said cam plates is detachably mounted to saidmain head body, said turning mechanism is operable to move saidinsertion nail in forward and backward directions along a first one ofsaid different paths of movement corresponding to said first one of saidcam plates.
 2. The component mounting apparatus according to claim 1,wherein said manipulator comprises: an external axle attached to a topof said main head body; an internal axle arranged inside said externalaxle; and a mount plate attached to a lower end of said internal axle,said cam plate being detachably mounted to said mount plate.
 3. Thecomponent mounting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising arotary body engaged to said cam plate so as to be rotatable in forwardand backward directions of said main head body, wherein said insertionnail comprises a first insertion nail attached to said rotary body, andsaid insertion nail also comprises a second insertion nail rotatablyattached to said first insertion nail.
 4. The component mountingapparatus according to claim 3, wherein an upper portion of said secondinsertion nail and a portion of a driving lever corresponding to saidupper portion make contact with each other via a cam surface.
 5. Thecomponent mounting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said firstinsertion nail and said second insertion nail each have at least threegrip nails formed at a distal end of each of said first insertion nailand said second insertion nail.
 6. The component mounting apparatusaccording to claim 5, wherein one of said grip nails at one side of saidsecond insertion nail has a narrower intervening space and greaterflexibility than any of said remaining grip nails of said secondinsertion nail.
 7. The component mounting apparatus according to claim3, wherein said first insertion nail and said second insertion nail areengaged together, and a center of said second insertion nail ispivotally supported by a center of said first insertion nail.
 8. Thecomponent mounting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: apusher for pressing a top of the component held by said insertion nail;and a catch pin for receiving a terminal extending downward from thecomponent, wherein said catch pin is adapted to receive a lower end ofthe terminal underneath a substrate on which the component is to bemounted.
 9. The component mounting apparatus according to claim 8,wherein said catch pin has a diameter greater than a diameter of athrough-hole provided in the substrate.
 10. The component mountingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cam surface of each of saidcam plates has a slope length, said cam plates having different slopelengths, said turning mechanism further comprising a cam follower linkedto said insertion nail, said cam follower being arranged so as tocontact and move along said cam surface of one of said cam plates. 11.The component mounting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein saidinsertion nail is arranged adjacent to said cam plate of said turningmechanism such that said turning mechanism engages said insertion nail.12. A component mounting apparatus comprising: a component deliveryunit; a chuck provided on said component delivery unit; a componenttransfer unit for receiving and holding a component held by said chuck,the component having a lead terminal extending downwardly; a head forreceiving and holding the component held by said component transferunit, and for moving the lead terminal above a through-hole of asubstrate in which the lead terminal is to be inserted; and a pusher forpressing down the component held by said head toward the substrate; saidhead including: a main head body; a manipulator connected to said mainhead body and operable to move in a vertical direction; an insertionnail provided at a bottom portion of said main head body; anopening/closing mechanism for opening and closing said insertion nail;and a turning mechanism for moving said insertion nail in forward andbackward directions, wherein said turning mechanism comprises aplurality of cam plates, each of said cam plates having a cam surfaceand being operable to be detachably mounted to said main head body, saidcam plates having differently-shaped cam surfaces corresponding todifferent paths of movement of said insertion nail such that when afirst one of said cam plates is detachably mounted to said main headbody, said turning mechanism is operable to move said insertion nail inforward and backward directions along a first one of said differentpaths of movement corresponding to said first one of said cam plates,said pusher being operable to hold in a standby position above thecomponent before coming in contact with and pressing down the componenttoward the substrate, and said pusher being operable to set the standbyposition according to the height of the component held by said head. 13.The component mounting apparatus according to claim 12, furthercomprising a catch pin provided under a through-hole of the substratefor supporting a lower end of the lead terminal of the component. 14.The component mounting apparatus according to claim 12, wherein saidpusher is operable to set the standby position using a calculation basedon the height of the component to be mounted.
 15. The component mountingapparatus according to claim 12, wherein said pusher is arranged tocontact a first end of a first lever, a fulcrum of said first leverbeing supported axially by a second lever, a second end of said firstlever being arranged to contact a first cam, and an end of said secondlever being arranged to contact a second cam.
 16. The component mountingapparatus according to claim 15, wherein said first cam has a rotaryaxle coaxial with a fulcrum of said second lever.
 17. The componentmounting apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said cam surface ofeach of said cam plates has a slope length, said cam plates havingdifferent slope lengths, said turning mechanism further comprising a camfollower linked to said insertion nail, said cam follower being arrangedso as to contact and move along said cam surface of one of said camplates.
 18. A component mounting apparatus comprising: a componentdelivery unit; a chuck provided on said component delivery unit; acomponent transfer unit for receiving and holding a component having alead terminal held by said chuck; a head for receiving the componentheld by said component transfer unit; a vertically-moving mechanism formoving said head; a table disposed below said head for supporting asubstrate; and an anvil mechanism disposed under said table, said headincluding: a main head body; a manipulator connected to said main headbody and operable to move in a vertical direction; an insertion nailprovided at a bottom portion of said main head body; an opening/closingmechanism for opening and closing said insertion nail; and a turningmechanism for moving said insertion nail in forward and backwarddirections, wherein said turning mechanism comprises a cam platedetachably mounted to said main head body; said anvil mechanismincluding: a mounting base provided with two slant surfaces opposed toeach other; a fixed blade mounted on a first slant surface of said slantsurfaces of said mounting base; and a movable blade mounted on a secondslant surface of said slant surfaces of said mounting base, wherein saidfixed blade is fixed to said first slant surface of slant surfaces ofsaid mounting base after said fixed blade is slid and set in position.19. The component mounting apparatus according to claim 18, furthercomprising an operating rod disposed under said mounting base, whereinsaid operating rod is linked to said movable blade.
 20. The componentmounting apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said operating rod andsaid movable blade are linked together by a coupling lever supportedaxially by said mounting base.
 21. The component mounting apparatusaccording to claim 19, wherein said operating rod has two flanges on aperiphery of a top portion of said operating rod, said flanges beingspaced apart a predetermined distance, and an upper one of said flangeshas a cut-back portion.
 22. The component mounting apparatus accordingto claim 19, wherein said operating rod has a cylindrical shape, and alead terminal supporter is provided in said cylindrically shapedoperating rod so as to be coaxial with said operating rod and verticallymovable.
 23. The component mounting apparatus according to claim 22,wherein said lead terminal supporter comprises a cylinder having a catchpin arranged in an opening in an upper end of said cylinder so as toprotrude upwardly.
 24. The component mounting apparatus according toclaim 23, further comprising a cap having an inner peripheral femalethread and having an opening on a top surface, said cap being screwedremovably on said upper end of said cylinder.
 25. The component mountingapparatus according to claim 23, wherein a supporting body is providedto bridge across said opening in said upper end of said cylinder, andsaid catch pin is mounted on said supporting body.
 26. The componentmounting apparatus according to claim 25, wherein said supporting bodyhas a substantially flat shape, and has a supporting pin arrangedhorizontally across said substantially flat supporting body, and saidcatch pin is arranged so as to have a lower end abutting said supportingpin.
 27. The component mounting apparatus according to claim 26, whereinan upper peripheral portion of said cylinder has a male thread, and anotch extends from said upper end of said cylinder vertically downwardthrough said male thread, and said supporting pin is engaged in saidnotch.
 28. The component mounting apparatus according to claim 27,wherein said supporting pin is engaged in a lower part of said notch,and a projection on said supporting body is engaged in an upper part ofsaid notch.
 29. The component mounting apparatus according to claim 18,wherein a groove is formed on at least one of an upper surface of saidmovable blade and a lower surface of said movable blade.
 30. Thecomponent mounting apparatus according to claim 29, wherein a groove isformed on an upper surface of said movable blade, and a through holeextends from a lower end of said groove.
 31. The component mountingapparatus according to claim 18, wherein said movable blade is operableto slide along said second slant surface of said slant surfaces to a topposition that is above an anticipated point where said movable blademeets with said fixed blade, and said fixed blade is fixed at a positionwhereat said fixed blade comes in contact with said movable blade atsaid top position.
 32. The component mounting apparatus according toclaim 18, wherein said cam plate of said turning mechanism is one of aplurality of interchangeable cam plates having different shapescorresponding to different paths of movement of said insertion nail, anyone of said cam plates being detachably mounted to said main head bodysuch that said turning mechanism is operable to move said insertion nailalong a desired one of said paths of movement of said insertion nailcorresponding to the shape of said any one of said cam plates.
 33. Acomponent mounting apparatus comprising: a component delivery unithaving an annular shape; a plurality of chucks provided along an outerperipheral surface of said component delivery unit, said chucks beingadapted to hold components; a plurality of component supply unitsprovided on an external side of said plurality of chucks; a chain oftaped components supplied by said plurality of component transfer units;a plurality of component transfer units for receiving and holding saidcomponents held by said chucks; and a head for receiving said componentsheld by said component transfer units; wherein said chain of tapedcomponents consists of said components, each of said components havingan element and at least two lead terminals connected to said element,said components being spaced and taped at regular intervals; whereinsaid component supply units supply said chain of taped components tosaid chucks so that said components are positioned with an element sideup and a lead terminal side down, and so that said components arealigned in a single row.
 34. The component mounting apparatus accordingto claim 33, wherein said plurality of component supply units arearranged so as to be side-by-side.
 35. The component mounting apparatusaccording to claim 33, wherein each of said component supply units has afirst chuck release for opening said chucks.
 36. The component mountingapparatus according to claim 35, wherein said chuck has a first sideadjacent to said component supply unit, said chuck having a hook on saidfirst side linked to said first chuck release.
 37. The componentmounting apparatus according to claim 36, wherein said chuck has anextended portion extending toward a back surface of said belt from asecond side of said chuck opposite said first side having said hook, anda second chuck release is linked to said extended portion.
 38. Thecomponent mounting apparatus according to claim 35, wherein each of saidcomponent supply units has a feeder of said chain of taped componentsand a cam for actuating said feeder of said chain of taped components,said cam having a chuck opening cam surface for actuating said firstchuck release.
 39. The component mounting apparatus according to claim38, further comprising a transmission mechanism between said first chuckrelease and said chuck opening cam surface of said cam, wherein saidtransmission mechanism is operable to actuate said first chuck releaseonly when said cam shifts toward a first direction.
 40. The componentmounting apparatus according to claim 38, wherein each of said componentsupply units has a taping member cutting blade between said feeder andsaid chuck, said cam having a cutting blade open/close cam surface and acutting blade shift cam surface for actuating said taping member cuttingblade.
 41. The component mounting apparatus according to claim 40,wherein each of said component supply units has at least one drivingmechanism for shifting said cam a first amount of movement and a secondamount of movement, which is greater than said first amount of movement,and said first amount of movement actuates said first chuck release andsaid feeder.
 42. The component mounting apparatus according to claim 41,wherein said cam is linked to said taping member cutting blade suchthat, when said at least one driving mechanism shifts said cam saidsecond amount of movement, said taping member cutting blade is closed.43. The component mounting apparatus according to claim 41, wherein eachof said component supply units has an element detector for detecting apresence or an absence of an element in said chain of taped components,and said driving mechanism is operable to shift said cam said firstamount of movement for a plurality of times when said element detectordetects the absence of an element.
 44. The component mounting apparatusaccording to claim 33, wherein said component delivery unit comprises aflexible belt, said belt having a back surface and having ditches andridges on said back surface for positioning of said chucks.
 45. Thecomponent mounting apparatus according to claim 44, wherein said belthas a plurality of chuck retainers spaced apart at regular intervals,and each of said plurality of chuck retainers has a chuck.
 46. Thecomponent mounting apparatus according to claim 45, wherein each of saidplurality of chuck retainers has a guide piece, and said guide pieceengages a guide rail.
 47. The component mounting apparatus according toclaim 46, wherein at least one of an upper end and a lower end of eachof said plurality of chuck retainers has an extended portion extendingtoward said back surface of said belt, said guide piece being formed onsaid extended portion.
 48. The component mounting apparatus according toclaim 33, wherein said chuck comprises a pair of nails operable to bemoved apart from each other so as to open said chuck, and comprises anelastic body attached to an inside face of one of said pair of nails.49. The component mounting apparatus according to claim 33, wherein saidchuck comprises a fixed nail and a movable nail, said movable nail beingoperable to move with respect to said fixed nail so as to open saidchuck, and an elastic body is attached to an inside face of one of saidmovable nail and said fixed nail.
 50. The component mounting apparatusaccording to claim 49, wherein said elastic body is attached to one ofsaid fixed nail and said movable nail by a pin penetrating through saidelastic body.
 51. The component mounting apparatus according to claim33, further comprising a cutting blade for cutting an extra length of ataping member, and further comprising an extra-length detectorpositioned on said component delivery unit at a downstream side of acomponent supply location adjacent to said component supply unit, saidextra-length detector being operable to detect a presence or an absenceof an extra length of a taping member, wherein said extra-lengthdetector actuates said cutting blade for cutting an extra length of ataping member so as to cut the extra length of said taping member to apredetermined length.
 52. The component mounting apparatus according toclaim 51, wherein said cutting blade for cutting an extra length of ataping member is operable to move from a lower position to an upperposition so as to cut the extra length of said taping member, and isoperable to return to said lower position after the cutting.
 53. Thecomponent mounting apparatus according to claim 33, further comprising apolarity flipper unit for flipping the polarity of said components, saidpolarity flipper unit being arranged on said component delivery unit ata downstream side of the component supply location adjacent to saidcomponent supply unit, said polarity flipper unit being freely movabletoward and away from said component delivery unit.
 54. The componentmounting apparatus according to claim 53, wherein said polarity flipperunit is positioned at a downstream side of said second cutting blade.55. The component mounting apparatus according to claim 33, furthercomprising a hold position correction unit for correcting a position ofsaid lead terminals of a component held by said chuck, said holdposition correction unit being arranged on said component delivery unitat a downstream side of the component supply location adjacent to saidcomponent supply unit.
 56. The component mounting apparatus according toclaim 55, further comprising a polarity flipper unit for flipping thepolarity of said components, said polarity flipper being arranged onsaid component delivery unit at a downstream side of the componentsupply location adjacent to said component supply unit, wherein saidhold position correction unit is provided at a downstream side of saidpolarity flipper unit.
 57. The component mounting apparatus according toclaim 55, wherein said hold position correction unit comprises: apositioning base for supporting a bottom edge of said chain of tapedcomponents; a holder for holding said chain of taped components bypressing two sides of said chain of taped components in a directionorthogonal to a longitudinal direction of said chain of tapedcomponents; and a push body for shifting a component of said chain oftaped components by pushing one of said lead terminals of said componentin the longitudinal direction of said chain of taped components.
 58. Thecomponent mounting apparatus according to claim 55, further comprising alead terminal cutting blade provided on said component delivery unit ata downstream side of said hold position correction unit, said leadterminal cutting blade being operable to cut said lead terminal, saidlead terminal cutting blade being freely movable toward and away fromsaid component delivery unit.
 59. The component mounting apparatusaccording to claim 58, wherein said lead terminal cutting bladecomprises a pair of blades movable with respect to each other so as toopen said lead terminal cutting blade, each of said pair of bladeshaving a distal end with a tapered lower surface, and said lead terminalcutting blade is arranged so that an upper edge of said chain of tapedcomponents contacts said tapered surfaces.
 60. The component mountingapparatus according to claim 33, wherein each of said component transferunits is operable to transfer said component held by one of said chucksto said head, each of said component transfer units comprising two gripnails for holding a lower portion of said lead terminals of saidcomponent, and a support nail for supporting an upper portion of saidlead terminals.
 61. The component mounting apparatus according to claim60, wherein a first one of said grip nails and said support nail areintegrated, and a second one of said grip nails is arranged to be freelymovable with respect to said first one of said grip nails integratedwith said support nail.
 62. The component mounting apparatus accordingto claim 61, wherein said head includes an insertion nail for gripping aportion of said lead terminals of said component located between saidgrip nails and said support nail.
 63. A component mounting apparatuscomprising: a component delivery unit; a chuck provided on saidcomponent delivery unit and operable to hold a component; a componenttransfer unit for receiving and holding the component held by saidchuck; and a head for receiving the component held by said componenttransfer unit, said head including: a main head body; a manipulatorconnected to said main head body and operable to move in a verticaldirection; an insertion nail provided at a bottom portion of said mainhead body; a first opening/closing mechanism for opening and closingsaid insertion nail; and a first turning mechanism for moving saidinsertion nail in forward and backward directions, wherein said turningmechanism comprises a cam plate detachably mounted to said main headbody; said component transfer unit including: a transfer chuck forreceiving and holding the component held by said chuck on said componentdelivery unit; a second turning mechanism for rotating said transferchuck; a shifting mechanism for shifting said transfer chuck toward aninside and an outside of a rotational arc of said transfer chuck; and asecond opening/closing mechanism for opening or closing said transferchuck after said transfer chuck is shifted to the inside or the outsideof the rotational arc of said transfer chuck by said shifting mechanism,wherein a rotary axle of said second turning mechanism, a driving axleof said shifting mechanism, and an opening/closing axle of said secondopening/closing mechanism are coaxial.
 64. The component mountingapparatus according to claim 63, further comprising a thirdopening/closing mechanism for opening or closing said transfer chuck, inaddition to said second opening/closing mechanism driven by saidopening/closing axle.
 65. The component mounting apparatus according toclaim 63, wherein said transfer chuck comprises two grip nails forholding a lower portion of a lead terminal of the component held by saidtransfer chuck, and a support nail for supporting an upper portion ofthe lead terminal.
 66. The component mounting apparatus according toclaim 65, wherein a first one of said grip nails and said support nailare integrated, and a second one of said grip nails is arranged to befreely movable with respect to said first one of said grip nailsintegrated with said support nail.
 67. The component mounting apparatusaccording to claim 63, further comprising: a rotary plate to be rotatedby said opening/closing axle of said second opening/closing mechanism;and a third opening/closing mechanism for opening and closing saidtransfer chuck by a rotary movement of said rotary plate, both saidrotary plate and said third opening/closing mechanism being arrangedbetween said opening/closing axle and said transfer chuck, wherein saidopening/closing axle biases said rotary plate for generating said rotarymovement.
 68. The component mounting apparatus according to claim 63,further comprising a shift lever between said driving axle of saidshifting mechanism and said transfer chuck, said shift lever beingbiased by said driving axle so as to shift said transfer chuck towardthe inside and the outside of the rotational arc of said transfer chuck.69. The component mounting apparatus according to claim 63, wherein saidcam plate of said first turning mechanism is one of a plurality ofinterchangeable cam plates having different shapes corresponding todifferent paths of movement of said insertion nail, any one of said camplates being detachably mounted to said main head body such that saidturning mechanism is operable to move said insertion nail along adesired one of said paths of movement of said insertion nailcorresponding to the shape of said any one of said cam plates.
 70. Acomponent mounting apparatus comprising: a component delivery unit; achuck provided on said component delivery unit and operable to hold acomponent; a component transfer unit for receiving and holding thecomponent held by said chuck; a head for receiving the component held bysaid component transfer unit, and for mounting the component on asubstrate positioned on a positioning table; a rail for guiding thesubstrate on said positioning table; and a transfer mechanism fortransferring the substrate to said positioning table while being guidedby said rail, said head including: a main head body; a manipulatorconnected to said main head body and operable to move in a verticaldirection; an insertion nail provided at a bottom portion of said mainhead body; an opening/closing mechanism for opening and closing saidinsertion nail; and a turning mechanism for moving said insertion nailin forward and backward directions, wherein said turning mechanismcomprises a cam plate detachably mounted to said main head body; saidtransfer mechanism including: a shaft holder; a transfer shaft operableto move freely in and out from said shaft holder toward said positioningtable; a transfer pin provided at a first end of said transfer shaftclosest to said positioning table so as to extend toward the substrate;a biasing device for biasing said transfer pin toward the substrate; anda pin shifting unit provided at a first end of said shaft holder closestto said positioning table for shifting said transfer pin to a side ofsaid transfer shaft opposite to the substrate against a biasing force ofsaid biasing device.
 71. The component mounting apparatus according toclaim 70, wherein said transfer pin is operable to slide on an axlearranged at said first end of said transfer shaft closest to saidpositioning table so as to extend toward the substrate, said biasingdevice comprising a spring linked to said transfer pin, said pinshifting unit comprising: a lever provided at said first end of saidshaft holder closest to said positioning table; and a lever actuatorlinked to a first end of said lever, and a second end of said leverbeing linked to said transfer pin.
 72. The component mounting apparatusaccording to claim 70, wherein said turning mechanism is one of aplurality of interchangeable cam plates having different shapescorresponding to different paths of movement of said insertion nail, anyone of said cam plates being detachably mounted to said main head bodysuch that said turning mechanism is operable to move said insertion nailalong a desired one of said paths of movement of said insertion nailcorresponding to the shape of said any one of said cam plates.